Student Research Projects

An Analysis of the Literacy and Fertility Rate Correlation

Abstract

Some policymakers argue that high fertility rates have a negative impact on development, and aim to reduce it. Strategies to reduce fertility rates have included increasing womens power within the marital union, socioeconomic status and personal fertility desires, to name a few. The inverse relationship between fertility rates and literacy rates has received the most attention from those who seek to reduce fertility. My research analyzes debates surrounding linkages between fertility and literacy, and considers alternative explanations.